


you, me, we

by kinneyb



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-05
Updated: 2020-07-05
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:53:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25078675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kinneyb/pseuds/kinneyb
Summary: Zuko wants them. Surprisingly, they want him back.
Relationships: Sokka/Suki/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 14
Kudos: 439





	you, me, we

**Author's Note:**

> yeah yeah 
> 
> twitter: queermight / tumblr: korrmin

Zuko heard their piercing laughter from the end of the hall. If he wasn't already headed to their room, he sure would be now out of sheer curiosity. He shouldn't be surprised, he supposed, that Suki and Sokka would be laughing, no care for their friends sleeping in the rooms next to them. They always had been a rowdy pair. Almost a perfect pair, really, bringing out the best in each other. Zuko just wished lingering bit of jealously would go away.

At first he thought he was simply jealous of their happiness, of their perfect relationship, especially considering how his own relationship with Mai had ended so abruptly. 

("You love me, Zuko, I know you do," she said, smiling sadly, "just not the way I love you.")

But now he had realized the startling truth. He was jealous for reasons deeper than that. Because he enjoyed both of their company a little too much. 

Sokka made sense, really. They had bonded long ago - during their mission to save Sokka's father, and then unexpectedly Suki - and now when Zuko needed help he was quick to show up, always sporting a grin and his signature boomerang, sword on his back.

Suki was a different case. He hadn't bonded with her much in the beginning, though she had always been civil, and her strength had impressed him from the start, but ever since she had started to protect Zuko - and his home - with the other Kyoshi Warriors, she had been unexpectedly kind to Zuko. 

They even joked once, always self-aware and shameless, that they were his defense squad. Even more than Aang and Katara, they were always at his side when he needed support or help. He had flushed at the time, pointedly rolling his eyes and turning away, but honestly the sentiment - joke or not - had warmed him. 

It was in that moment - or soon after - that he decided he had to keep his feelings to himself.

He had never had friends, not like this, and he would never risk losing them. And that was certainly what would happen, especially considering his traitorous brain hadn't decided to just like one of them - as if that wasn't torture enough - but both of them.

Shaking his head, he stopped in front of their door and raised a fist to knock.

He heard Suki's laughter, loud and unabashed. "I forgot how good you looked," she said, muffled through the door. 

Zuko blinked once. Were they - ? 

But then: "And I forgot how much I hated this crap on my face." Sokka's voice, amusement laced with annoyance. "Can I take it off yet?"

Zuko was beyond curious, now, but he wasn't so sure he should interrupt. Except his body moved without his permission, fist dropping forward to pound against the wood. He heard a shriek from Sokka and more laughter from Suki before the door opened just a crack and she stuck her head out, short hair pulled back in a messy bun and face bare. He didn't see her like that a lot.

"Zuko," she greeted casually, as she did when she wasn't on the job. "Um." She glanced over her shoulder and back again, stifling what looked like a grin. "What are you doing here?"

He arched his eyebrow. "I wanted to speak to you about the festival next week, but..." His eyes flickered up, trying to peer around or over her, but she pointedly blocked the way. "If you're busy, I can wait."

Suki looked thoughtful for a second, sucking her bottom lip between her teeth, before suddenly she grinned shamelessly. "Oh, I'm not busy at all," she said as she stepped to the side and he heard Sokka's voice in the background - "Suki!" - but he didn't falter. Stepping into the room, his eyes were drawn like moths to a flame to the man sitting on the plush bed in the middle of the room.

It was Sokka, undoubtedly, but he might not have known that if he hadn't heard his voice.

His face, usually so dark, was covered in white, even his ears. That wasn't quite as shocking as the paint around his eyes, of course, eyelids painted red and eyebrows darkened to black, elegantly arching up his forehead. Not to mention, his lips, painted maroon. He looked like - well, like Suki and the others when they were all dressed up. 

And somehow he pulled it off just as well, even looking as horrified as he did.

"Suki," he whined, turning to look at her. "You betrayed me."

She smiled, closing the door. "Come on, you look beautiful." She skipped over and joined him on the bed, leaning her head on Sokka's shoulder and eyeing Zuko with a smirk. "Doesn't he?"

Zuko felt like he couldn't quite get air in his lungs. "I - uh, I don't understand."

"The question?" she asked with a hint of amusement. Before he could answer, she scooted behind Sokka and pulled his hair up, tying it out of the way. "Do you know how we first met, Zuko?"

He was so distracted by her fingers, elegant and long, that he almost didn't hear her. "No," he admitted finally, forcing his eyes away. But then he met Sokka's eyes, the brightest blue against the white paint, and decided that wasn't any better, heart pounding as he forced his gaze to the ground. His feet were a safe bet, at least. 

"He was a jerk," she said, though fondly. Finished with his hair, she settled down next to him. "But then he asked me to teach him a few things, and I did but only on the condition that he dressed like a real Kyoshi Warrior." She grinned like a shark. "It was kind of the moment I realized I liked this guy, that he was willing to do that. And - " she kissed his cheek. "That he looked so good in it."

Zuko couldn't argue with the facts. Sokka did look good, unfairly so, which was why he couldn't look at him. He shoved his feelings down, down, to the deepest depths of his stomach. 

"I should - you know, I should probably go," he stammered, looking up.

Suki shared a look with Sokka, an odd twist to her mouth that Zuko couldn't quite understand. To be fair, he still struggled to understand a lot. "But I thought you needed to talk?" she said eventually, turning back to him with a frown. "Stay."

Zuko swallowed around the lump in his throat. Normally he was never too hot, especially in such casual clothes, already light and airy, but right now he was burning up. Maybe he had a fever. If only his uncle was here, he would know what to do.

"I don't know," he said. 

Sokka slipped off the bed, and Zuko's heart stopped in his chest. Suki simply watched, head tilted to the side with a small smile, as Sokka approached him. 

With each step, his smile grew wider. "She asked you stay," he said, stopping once he was so close Zuko could see himself reflected in the cool blue of Sokka's eyes, bright and glimmering. "Won't you?"

He suddenly felt like he was being made fun of. "Uh - okay," he said anyway because how could he say no with Sokka looking at him like that? Like he was excited at the prospect of Zuko staying with them? 

Zuko made for the only chair in the room, pushed into a desk in the corner, but Sokka grabbed his arm before he got very far. Without a word, he pulled him to the bed. Zuko sat stiffly. He hadn't felt so awkward and out of place in a while, watching silently as Suki and Sokka exchanged knowing looks at his expense. His skin prickled, warm with goosebumps. 

"So," Suki said finally, looking at him with a small smile. "What did you want to discuss, exactly?"

Zuko blinked, mind suddenly blank. "Uh."

"You're terrible at this," Sokka said to his girlfriend, rolling his eyes. She just smacked his arm.

Still not understanding, and mind helplessly blank, Zuko tugged at the collar of his shirt, feeling oddly restricted. "Am I missing something here?" he asked, shoulders low and tense. 

As if sensing his dismay, always so good at that, Suki jumped forward and placed a hand on his arm. "No," she breathed before pursing her lips. "Well, a little, but only because we've never done this before. And it's not exactly common."

"It was for the Air Nomads," Sokka said helpfully.

Suki glared at him briefly before returning her gaze, softened, to Zuko. "Okay," she said, lightly squeezing his arm before sitting back. "Maybe a straightforward approach would be best."

Sokka looked disappointed. "But we had the whole thing planned out," he whined. Suki ignored him.

"Zuko, we've noticed your - ah - interest," she said, head tilting back and forth.

He suddenly felt like he'd had a bucket of ice water pulled over his head. His hands twitched in his lap, heart in the back of his throat. He had tried so hard to hide any of those feelings. How had they noticed, and for how long? That didn't matter, he supposed. Suddenly he threw his head down in a bow, heart back in his chest and pounding like crazy. "I apologize," he said quickly. "I swear I don't mean any disrespect," he continued, not daring to look up. "You are a lovely couple, and make each other very happy - "

He felt a hand on his arm. Looking up, he realized it was Sokka's hand. Sokka, who was staring at him in that fucking face paint, looking like something out of one of the plays on Ember Island but better. So much better. His eyes crinkled around the corners. 

"We know," he said gently. 

Zuko nodded slowly. "You do?"

Suki placed a hand on his other arm. "Actually, that's what we wanted to talk to you about," she said with an almost shy grin. "We feel the same way."

Not I. We. 

He would've had a hard enough time understanding if Suki had said I, or he, but we was just completely inconceivable to him. He glanced between them, wondering again if this was a cruel joke but he knew they would never do that. 

"We?" he repeated helplessly, still unsure of what to say or think.

Sokka grinned devilishly. "Both of us, yes," he said, shuffling closer and Zuko couldn't take his eyes off him. "We know it isn't... exactly typical or even accepted in some places, but no harm in asking, right?"

Zuko finally tore his eyes away from Sokka, turning to Suki. She just smiled encouragingly. 

"Asking what, exactly?" he replied finally, heart still in his chest, waiting for the answer. 

Sokka exchanged one last look with Suki before nodding and leaning in dangerously close, his light stubble scratching against Zuko's cheek as he whispered in his ear: "Do you want to be with us?"

Heat pooled in the pit of his stomach. He pulled back, eyes wide. "I don't - I mean," he stammered because obviously, but he wanted more than that. Much more. "I don't just find you both attractive," he continued, cheeks warm. "I like you both. A lot, and - "

Suki reached up, hand light against his cheek. "We don't just mean in bed, Zuko," she said with a pointed look at Sokka. "We mean in every way." He stared at her, heart slowly beating again. She thumbed his cheek with a cheeky little grin. "Get it?"

He did. He just couldn't believe it. Could he really be so lucky? And how would it work?

But all those questions were quickly squashed by sheer fucking joy because he was so lucky. 

"Um. Yes," he said, eyes flickering between them. "But is that what you want?" he asked, asking them both.

Sokka winked, which was answer enough. Suki let out a soft laugh and nodded, eyes crinkling. "We discussed it in depth before deciding to ask you, Zuko," she assured him gently. "We've never done this before, and we know you haven't, but why not?"

Surely people would have a hard time understanding, and there had never been a Fire Lord with two partners, but fuck it. Zuko had given up enough in his life. He deserved some good things. He smiled slightly, hesitantly. 

"I would like to try," he admitted, "but admittedly I don't have the best history with - uh - relationships."

Sokka waved him off with ease. "We know you, Zuko. We know what to expect. And what not to expect."

"Right," he replied. 

Suki pulled her hand back and slipped out of the bed, retrieving something from her bag, a small pack of wipes. She handed them to Zuko. "Here." She nodded at Sokka. "He can't sleep in that stuff. Terrible for the skin. Usually he takes it off for me when he's here," she continued after a beat, smiling a little. 

Sokka grinned and closed his eyes, leaning toward Zuko.

Zuko smiled again as he took one of the wipes and started to gently wipe away the paint.


End file.
